Ajmal V for BeyondHeadlines
I wonder when I look at EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) to cast my vote in Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency, Kerala. My wonder was that I could find four people with similar names – V. Abdurrahman of LDF candidate, Abdurrahman Vadakkathinakath, Abdurrahman Varyakath and Abdurrahman Varikkottil.
After retured back home I check the candidates list of 20 Parliamentary Constituencies of Kerala. There was ‘namesake’ of major candidates of both Alliances – UDF and LDF. It convinced me that the epithet of ‘politically educated state in India’ was mistakenly given to Kerala, where the vulgarities are happening in politics.
I tried to contact with almost all ‘fake candidates.’ None of them are not economically fit to spend atleast 25000 rupees of deposit with the nomination. Most of them were workers or associates of political party. One person admitted that he was supported by the party to file nomination against the opposition candidate who is with similar name of him.
These type of strategy is mostly done by both Right and Left. The independent candidate O.P Veerendra Kumar in Palakkad constituency is threatening the UDF candidate M.P Veerendra Kumar of Secular Janata Dal who is contesting against sitting MP M.B. Rajesh of CPIM.
In adjacent constituency Alathur, R. Biju, K. Biju and A. Biju are posing big challenge against the LDF candidate and sitting MP P.K Biju. In Kozhikode constituency the ‘fake candidates’ are real fear for both Alliances. The UDF candidate M.K. Raghavan has to contest against the LDF candidate M. Vijayaraghavn and two more independent Raghavans – M. Raghavan and V.M Rahgavan. Likewise the LDF candidate has another M. Vijayaraghavan and Vijayaraghavan.K.
These are the some of the namesake in the candidate list in Kerala. The namesake is not new phenomena in the elections. In 2009 Lok Sabha election some of the victory and failure had determined by this namesake. For example K.K Ragesh of CPIM lost the winning numbers of votes to K. Ragesh. In Ponnani constituency the LDF candidate and one of the prominent historian Dr. Hussain Randathani was failed by the five Hussains, who owed more than 8000 votes.
Elections are the main instrument of democracy. Periodic elections are even too important for representative democracy like India, then only people can utilize their right in democracy. Everyone can contest in elections in India, but these kinds of practices in the name of elections are not good for the democracy. Here the right to vote of the voters are being decieved. They get failed in choosing their representative.
This reflect the political illiteracy and urge an intense political education for all citizens. It also point out the morality of political parties, who are playing all these vulgarities in the name of democracy. It important to bring strict order in this matter by election commission.
